Which decade of music do you believe has impacted you? For me, it's the 70s. Those were the ages of REAL rock n roll, and the start of British Heavy Metal. Bands like Van Halen, KISS, Iron Maiden, Led Zeppelin, Judas Priest, Deep Purple, Black Sabbath, Pink Floyd, and many more bands have influenced me greatly from this time. It was the golden age of music in my opinion, and it created what Heavy Metal is what it is today. So many classic songs are from that era, and the best guitarists to ever appear on this earth started there..
The 80s. It birthed my favourite genres and is what the actual good modern day pop artists draw their influence from. It produced the pioneers of new wave, the English post-punk band Joy Division, who went on to morph into the full-on new wave band New Order after the lead singer's suicide in 1980. Talking Heads, an American band, entered that genre the same year with songs like 'Once in a Lifetime' (one of my favourites of all time) and 'Houses in Motion'. Dexys Midnight Runners released 'Come On Eileen' which I hear at every party I go to. The Police released 'Every Breath You Take'. Most of the best songs in that genre came out then - it had a resurgence in the 2000s with the Strokes, Franz Ferdinand, Foals and The Killers dabbling it, and even today manages to receive entries from acts like Taylor Swift (gross) and Marina and the Diamonds (really not gross). The Blue Nile released Hats in 1989, a record that combined new wave, jazz, pop and soul together in a genre called sophisti-pop. It's a really nice seven track album I can just sit down and listen to at night before I go to sleep. And if I was ever going to make an album, I'd hope you'd be able to hear this album's influence in it. It's just a, in my opinion, criminally underrated masterpiece. I love Fleetwood Mac, David Bowie, Duran Duran, Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark, too, and their best work was produced in the 80s, so... I'll mention them. Meanwhile, over in America, Prince dropped 1999, Purple Rain and Sign O' The Times (When Doves Cry and Purple Rain are two of my favourite songs of all time). Michael Jackson put Thriller and Bad into his roster. Whitney Houston released Whitney Houston and Whitney (woman loved her name, I guess). Billy Joel released We Didn't Start The Fire which is basically just a song about the Cold War and I love that. I'm sure there's probably more American artists who I like - especially since the British side of 80s pop music isn't as appealing to me but they've dominated this list so far - but these are all I can think of right now. I've got a feeling that by the end of 2019, the 2010s will have taken the 80's place in my heart, but the 80s will forever be a close second. It's probably natural that this happens seeing as I've grown up through it and my favourite artists are active during this time (The 1975, Arctic Monkeys, Nothing But Thieves, Foo Fighters, The Neighbourhood, Childish Gambino, Janelle Monae, etc.) Honourable mentions are the 90s (just for Britpop, shoegaze and Nirvana) and the 2010s.
I find your taste unique, and I apologize for any hostility earlier on in Otus the Music Snob. I agree, the 80s were a big time, although for me it was more so in the Heavy Metal and Hard Rock department, but thank you for your long answer and passion as well
Tbh this was a tough decision. I really do like music from the Mesopotamian people because it's relaxing to listen to (when it's intended to be relaxing), so I just went with that.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vww7eQYhPMc Listen to the beginning When you realize the ancient Mesopotamian people listened to speed metal 6000 years before you